Nama-Stay the Night: Bipartisan Deals and Late Night Negotiations
by somewhereinthedreams
Summary: Gareth isn't sure why it's so difficult to get Laurel to agree to stay the night. Set after Season 1, Episode 8: The Path to War Part One: The Gathering Political Storm.


A/N: I had a fleeting idea for this fic the other night and took it as a sign that I had to write it when I realized my new nail polish is named, "Nama-stay the Night." It's hard to believe that over half of Season 1 already aired! I can't wait to see what's in store for the rest of the season. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

* * *

Gareth and Laurel were currently tangled up in his sheets and there was no other place he would rather be right now. He gently ran his fingers through her hair as she snuggled closer to him. Gareth laughed softly to himself, wondering how in the hell a bleeding heart liberal took up residency in his heart. Not that he loved her. Maybe one day, but not yet. It was too soon to tell. But he liked her a lot more than he should. He wondered how he could have everything and nothing in common with the same person.

"What's so funny?" Laurel sleepily asked, turning so she was facing him. She lazily ran her hand up and down his chest.

"You - "

Laurel swatted his chest and glared at him.

He grabbed her hand before she could hit him again, "And me," he finished, lacing their fingers together.

His answer must have mollified her, because she didn't try hitting him again.

"If my father was really my father and not a bug, he'd be scandalized. Although, I'm pretty sure he didn't check the party affiliation of every woman he cheated on my mother with, so it's not like he has any room to - "

Gareth pressed his lips against hers and silenced her with a kiss. "You're talking too much." Even though it drove him crazy most of the time, he loved that Laurel was never afraid to tell him exactly what she thought. About the world. Politics. His _outdated idiotic_ ideals.

He felt Laurel relax as she shifted closer to him and the moment her leg slid in between his, he rolled them over. It seemed that Laurel was just as ready for round two as he was. Gareth started trailing kisses down her body and groaned in frustration when she pushed him away. "What's wrong?"

"We can't."

He smirked at Laurel as he noted her disheveled hair and her lust filled gaze, but didn't press her for an explanation. Gareth rolled off her, but made sure to hold her close. He trailed his fingers down her back, before resting his hand on her hip. "We can." He pressed his lips to her throat and felt her resolve slipping away as she tangled her fingers in his hair.

Laurel murmured his name but almost immediately pulled away again. "Gareth, it's late," Laurel weakly protested.

"Okay, okay." He pecked his lips against hers and adjusted the sheet over them and debated grabbing a blanket, but they had each other to keep warm if his apartment was too cold. "Night," Gareth murmured as he ran the back of his knuckles up and down her back. His eyes started to drift shut when he felt her shifting next to him. Laurel pulled away from him and he reached out, groaning at the loss of body heat. "What are you doing?"

Laurel leaned over him and slowly kissed him, "It's late, I should go."

"I don't snore," Gareth blurted out.

Laurel looked at him strangely and laughed, "Okay, that's good to know. I never said you snored."

"Do you?" The first night they were together, Laurel passed out almost immediately and he didn't stick around long enough to know if she snored. The second time they were together, she left suddenly. Tonight marked the third time they were together and he was starting to wonder if there was a specific reason Laurel didn't want to stay the night.

"No!" Laurel insisted.

"Because if you don't think I snore and you say you don't snore, then why won't you stay over?"

Laurel narrowed her eyes at him, "What do you mean, I _say_ I don't snore? Are you trying to tell me that I snore? Because if you are - "

"Don't put words in my mouth." He and Laurel had enough things to bicker about without her twisting his words into a non-existent argument. "Why are you so eager to leave?" He was starting to think that Laurel had some other reason for wanting to leave. They weren't serious. Things were casual between them. They hadn't discussed any sort of rules, but he was starting to wonder if things were even more casual between them than he originally thought. Maybe she was using him for sex. If that was all they were, he was fine with that, but he deserved to know.

"I have to work tomorrow."

"So do I. You can sleep here." Gareth lightly squeezed her hip as he tried to coax her into staying the night.

"I have to go home and shower - "

"I have a shower here." He reached for her hand and laced their fingers together. "It'll save water if we shower together. It's good for the environment."

Laurel titled her head, "Why are you so insistent on me staying the night?"

"Why are you so eager to leave?" Call him old-fashioned, but he wanted to wake up next to her. At least once. Of course there would be nights that doing so wouldn't work out for either of them, but there was no real reason why it couldn't happen tonight.

"I'm not trying to leave, it's just - it's complicated. I don't want anyone at work - "

"Knowing about us?" Gareth initially had some of those same concerns, but now that it was happening, he didn't care. His boss thought they were sleeping together before they actually did. Other than lecturing them about it, there wasn't anything Red could actually do about it. Now that he was thinking about it, he was starting to wonder if Red's concerns had more to do with Laurel investigating the bugs than her being Luke Healy's sister.

"Yes! No - well, okay, a little. But I don't need everyone knowing everything about us."

Gareth traced his fingers along her face, gently pushing back her hair. "They don't know anything about us," he quietly said. He couldn't explain it. If someone would've told him a year ago he would fall hard for a democrat he would've laughed. But right now, he couldn't imagine _not_ being with her. "It's not like we have to walk in together." Gareth softly kissed her, "We can get up early and go to breakfast. Or I can drop you off at your place and go get us breakfast. Or I can make breakfast while you're getting ready. I'll wait a few minutes and walk in after you."

Laurel took a deep breath and sighed, "It's not like everyone hasn't seen us together." She and Gareth were a little careful, but they weren't hiding. They kissed in public. They stopped by each other's offices during the day. They went out to lunch together. Had drinks together. The person that would object the most, didn't really have any moral ground to stand on. She wasn't sure when her father's input on her dating life stopped mattering. If it was when she found out he was cheating on her mother or when the bugs took over his brain. Oddly enough, her brother would probably be thrilled because he would want her to use her connection to Gareth for dirt on Red. And considering that some people were still talking about Luke's infidelity, her sleeping with someone single wouldn't be nearly as scandalous. Even if Gareth was a card carrying republican.

"Yeah?" Gareth asked, unable to keep the grin off his face.

Laurel nodded as she shifted closer to him, "Grab what you need and we'll go back to my place."

"Why your place?"

"Because I'd rather stay up late than get up early," Laurel explained.

Gareth considered her proposition for a few seconds then nodded, "Okay, let's go." He loosened his hold on her and started to climb out of bed, but Laurel placed her hand on his arm.

"Seriously?"

"Did you think I was not serious about wanting to spend the night with you?"

"I guess - I'm not used to - I've never met anyone like you."

"File this under me wanting us to do normal things."

"I'll get right on that."

She wasn't even sure what normal was anymore. But each day they got a little closer to figuring out the bugs and she hoped they would soon be a distant memory, and that there would be a way to save her dad in the process. Laurel pushed all thoughts of bugs from her head and decided to focus on watching Gareth.

Laurel propped herself up on her elbow as Gareth got out of bed and slipped on his boxer shorts. She watched him as he grabbed an overnight bag from his closet and set it on his dresser. He wandered into the bathroom and she could hear him gathering up his things. A few minutes passed and he came back into the room and looked at her strangely.

"Aren't you going to get dressed?" Gareth asked. "You can borrow a long coat if you want, but you're gonna get cold."

Laurel made a mental note to surprise him at some point wearing lingerie under a trench coat. It was cliche as hell, but it could be fun. "I'm not getting dressed until you pick out your clothes." Laurel made a point of picking up her phone and looking at the time. She flopped back down on the bed and curled up with his pillow. "I figure it'll be at least twenty minutes."

"It won't take me twenty minutes!" Gareth protested, a smile tugging at his lips. "You probably spend just as much time picking out your clothes, if not more." He walked over to the bed and playfully pulled at the sheet until she answered him.

"I do not!" Laurel insisted.

Gareth smirked at her. "Including shoes?"

Laurel huffed her annoyance as she got out of bed. She started searching the room for her things and was seriously rethinking her decision for them to relocate to her place. She wished her skirt was a solid color, because then she could pair it with one of his dress shirts. She could pin it back and explain it away as the latest style in LA. A chunk of her teenage years were spent repurposing Luke's clothes as her own, she could do this. But her skirt was patterned. No way could she explain that away. Not to mention that someone would probably comment on her wearing one of Gareth's signature checkered shirts. She wasn't even sure he owned a solid color shirt other than the black one he wore a few weeks ago. Other than that one time, she swore she had only seen him in checkered or plaid shirts.

Gareth switched on some music and they enjoyed a comfortable silence while they got dressed and he packed an overnight bag.

"This is ridiculous," Laurel announced.

Gareth reached for his phone and skipped past the song, "They play this song too much," Gareth agreed. He approvingly nodded as a new song started to play.

"I mean us. I've been busting my ass since I started working for my brother. I can be a little late one day. I'll just call him in the morning and tell him I forgot about a doctor's appointment." It would be worth the lecture of how maybe she could irresponsible in LA, but that this was DC and things started on time. She didn't care. Besides, with everything she had done for her brother, didn't she deserve a little flex time?

Gareth set down the shirts he had been comparing on a chair. "Does this mean I'm off the hook for breakfast?"

Laurel shook her head as she walked towards them. She pointed to the shirt on the left and wrapped her arms around his neck, "I'll buy breakfast if you make us a midnight snack." She wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily.

"Ms. Healy, are you suggesting a bipartisan deal?"

Laurel shivered as Gareth brushed his lips over hers. She was seriously rethinking her request for a midnight snack and wondered if she could convince him to take a sick day with her tomorrow. Because lounging around in bed all day sounded like a much better use of her time than hearing people complain. But if they were trying to fly under the radar a bit, taking a sick day at the same time was a great way to draw attention to themselves.

"Don't get used to it."

THE END


End file.
